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Cha-cha-cha-changes!!!
By Will Davis | February 7, 2008
There’s been two major trades effecting top Western Conference teams… and Jason Kidd has yet to leave New Jersey. Pau Gasol was traded to the LA Lakers in an apparent fire sale, and Shaq will join the Pheonix Suns (and probably immediately miss 24 games due to injury). The trades say a lot about the state of the Lakers and Suns.
In LA a commitment to Kobe Bryant has been made, made again, and now again. Picking up gift Derek Fisher in the off-season was nice, having Bynum play so well was great, and now getting a bonafide All-Star in Pau Gasol to play forward is stellar. The Lakers are now clearly a contender, and the rest of the conference is stunned in how they pulled it off. The Grizzlies, their season being over weeks ago, decided to give away Gasol for almost notihing in return possibly to setup sale of the team or a move to another city.
Meanwhile the Suns, after all their talk about most points scoring wins games, have stated loud and clear that the ‘run n gun’ won’t win a championship in this league (much less the conference). That can be the only conclusion drawn from trading for the biggest, slowest center in the league in Shaq. Still effective in the half court when healthy, Shaq bolsters and quick team that shoots relatively well considering all the wide open attempts they get (which drives me batty).
Q&A Time:
What’s the state of the Western Conference?
Unchanged. It was the powerhouse conference before, and two of its better teams just got better. All the pre-season talk about the Celtics has been a bit overblown. They are excellent, don’t get me wrong, and so is Detroit. But we’re talking about conferences as a whole and the East just doesn’t match up.
How much has each team improved?
The Lakers can be astonishingly good once Bynum gets back. You could possibly have a lineup of Fisher, Bryant, Odom (6′ 11″), Gasol (7′), and Bynum (7′) without losing speed because the 3 big men are so athletic. The Suns not as much. They lose Shawn Marion who did more for that team than most people realize. He picks up their pieces: rebounds, put-backs, bad defensive rotations, and the list goes on. But Shaq specifically fits a need. The Suns have been overpowered against the strong centers in the West, which should stop now with the addition of Shaq.
And the rest of the West?
Adjustments have to made. A team like Dallas can either hit the panic button, make a move that sends a top-tier point guard to Portland while gaining a relic, or it can stand pat hoping that their coach and top players can mature from two years of disappointing loses. Dallas would be better served making a small deal giving up a backup player on their roster for a specialist (hopefully a shooter or slasher). Other teams like the Spurs and Houston need to get healthy and work out their regular season klinks in their armor.
Topics: Team |
February 12th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
I’ve been on the fence for the past week about the Mavs. Should they trade for Jason Kidd? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get somebody. Gasol was a steal and I’m sad that Dallas didn’t pick him up. Gasol, Nowitzki, Howard, Harris, and random #2 guard would have made a killer lineup.
Who’s left out there on the shopping block? I haven’t heard too many names being tossed around lately. That may be, of course, due to the fact that ESPN Radio is now obsessed with the stupid baseball steroid scandal. As if life weren’t boring enough after the NFL season.
February 19th, 2008 at 1:23 am
Good foresight there Willy…
Cept they traded the young PG to NJ for a relic.
But spot-on son. Looks like you found your calling.